The present invention relates generally to a heat sink and more particularly to a self-contained heat sink and a method for fabricating the same.
As an electronic component operates, the electron flow within the component generates heat. If this heat is not removed, or dissipated, the electronic component may not operate correctly and may become damaged. Typically, the heat generated by the electronic component is dissipated by a cooling means, such as an aluminum (Al) or copper (Cu) heat sink which absorbs and dissipates the heat via direct air convection. Heat sinks are well known in the electronics industry and are used extensively to dissipate heat generated by electronic components used in computers and various other electronic equipment.
However, improvements in integrated circuit (IC) design and fabrication techniques are allowing IC manufacturers to produce smaller IC devices and other electronic components which operate at increasingly faster speeds and which perform an increasingly higher number of operations. As the operating speed and operational parameters of an electronic component increases, so to does the heat generated by these components. As a result, aluminum (Al) or copper (Cu) heat sinks that use conventional direct air cooling technology, or direct air convection, to dissipate heat are fast approaching the limits of their cooling abilities and it is becoming increasingly difficult to dissipate this increased heat. This is true even for electronic components that were once considered to be a low power technology and as such low heat generators, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor, or CMOS, circuitry.
In an exemplary embodiment, a system is provided for thermal dissipation from a heat producing electronic device. The system includes a substrate for fabricating integrated circuits, the substrate having a first face and a second face. The second face is disposed substantially parallel to the first face having an electronic device disposed therein. A metallized crack stop is disposed in the first face surrounding the electronic device. A plurality of first metal conduits extend through the substrate from the second face thereof to the crack stop, wherein each first metal conduit is in thermal contact with the crack stop to provide a thermal drain from the electronic device to the second face.
In an alternative embodiment, a method for thermal dissipation from a heat producing electronic device is disclosed. The method includes configuring a substrate having a first face and a second face, the second face being disposed substantially parallel to the first face. An electronic device is disposed in said first face while a continuous crack stop is etched in the first face surrounding the electronic device and then metallized. A plurality of first metal conduits extend through the substrate from the second face thereof to the crack stop, wherein each first metal conduit is in thermal contact with the crack stop providing a thermal drain from the electronic device to the second face.